Phylum of Alexandria

I'm also dubious of the claim that Japanese media is absurdly violent by most standards. Is it possible to find violent media? Sure, especially in manga or anime. Is it more violent than the torture porn horror flicks that have proliferated in the US? Are the most violent titles anywhere near as popular as the Saw series was? It's also important to note that streaming and even cable TV are not very common in Japanese households even now, certainly not the ubiquity that we currently enjoy. Internet searches make everything easier to get, of course, but we've had primo access to violent content for much longer. (I guess this comment is of questionable value in the US politics thread, so I will emphasize the violent nature of US pop culture, which I would say far surpasses that of Japan. Also: they don't have guns...we have easy and unfettered access. They have great social safety nets, we are turning into Saudi America).

It speaks to my great distrust of the current Supreme Court majority that every new case like this (where a minor technical dispute could be used to great destructive effect, to those so inclined) gives me acid reflux: https://www.vox.com/scotus/2024/3/25/24108640/supreme-court-january-6-insurrection-fischer-united-states-obstruct

Did anyone expect something more coherent? The most coherent pro-MAGA take is the most nakedly cynical one, like Steve Bannon's accelerationism. All else is some mix of compartmentalization, whataboutism, conspiratorial thinking, deep grievance, and wounded egos. In other words, a cranial zone thoroughly flooded with shit.

With respect to commercial video streaming, one of the quirks of our current age is that it's much easier to get ahold of random trash from my childhood than it is to watch a more culturally important or daring work of any age. Like, if I had to bet that I could readily watch Samurai Pizza Cats over any given masterpiece by Abbas Kiarostami, my money is on Samurai Pizza Cats. There are ways to get to certain classic or arty films for now, but the priorities and profit incentives are crystal clear: nostalgia and pleasant distractions are the way to go. So I wouldn't bet on the steady availability of anything but blockbusters and random junk from people's childhoods. What to watch this weekend? Lawnmower Man it is...

Revenge, and boredom.

Decadence, plain and simple.

You're on the dark side because you want politics to be serious and boring, rather than apocalyptic LARPing for bored, lonely people.

Well, to be honest, I'm doing this series via audiobook. Andrew Wincott does the reading, and he's pretty good (despite most of the non-human characters sounding similar). I too was intimidated by the massiveness of Book III, but I figure with the audiobook, it'll be more like a gargantuan radio play. (You've also hit on my shameful relationship with War and Peace and Gravity's Rainbow. They're looking down on me from my bookshelf as I type this)

I'm finally digging into Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, currently close to finishing The Stone of Farewell. I have a lot of thoughts about how it does and does not connect with ASOIAF. GRRM was clearly influenced by it (he has said as much). But I also think he saw a bit of his old work in it. Some characters and passages recall the more fantasy-leaning stories GRRM wrote in decades past. My guess is that he saw a kindred spirit doing fantasy right; and concluded that his own fantasy story could be a compelling way to bring a lot of his own themes and motifs into a grand and coherent narrative world. In any event, Memory is more high-magic than I prefer, but I like William's characters, and often love his prose. I'm eager to see how the story develops.

"Je suis l'Empire à la fin de la decadence…"

I guess I didn't spell out why I asked about those Haley voters in the first place. It's because Kal mentioned 2016 as a reference point. Third party shenanigans aside, I don't think 2016 is a good reference anymore. Wouldn't 2020 be the more appropriate reference point? That election had some portion of conservatives voting for Biden but for other Republican candidates down-ballot. And even that election was before the January 6 insanity. 2024 has few good reference points, in truth. Trump is running as an incumbent, but is technically not an incumbent (essentially he's an incumbent in the minds of people who assert that he won in 2020). In 2021, most Republicans wanted to move on from January 6 and pretend it never happened; some people were outright disgusted. I'm not saying these people are guaranteed to vote against Trump; many have shifted to the party line narrative, while others will equivocate to assuage their discomfort. I think of these effects in terms of tendencies, which will depend in some part on the plausible deniability that Trump will offer to more well-informed conservatives as he runs. And yet, he is currently offering no convenient off-ramp for the more well-meaning voters: not only will he not "move on" with Jan 6, he's calling the insurrectionists "hostages," and promising them pardons. It's not crazy to think that the chunk of conservatives who split their 2020 tickets against Trump will do the same in 2024. Given all that's happened, it seems more likely than not.

I don't disagree with this basic assessment, except that in the most important swing states, a small margin of disaffected conservatives can have a big impact on the electoral results. Those rare well-informed purple state voters may end up mattering quite a bit.

Just wondering, what is your take on the 20-30% of Nikki Haley voters? There numbers roughly track the percentage of conservatives who report believing that Trump lost the 2020 election, and Biden legitimately won. You don't think that's a major vulnerability for Trump? Especially considering that he's been doubling down on his Jan 6 insurrection rhetoric rather than downplaying it?

I went to a private Christian school out of the city for elementary school, and I quickly realized that my distinct pronunciations had to go. If any come back up, it's usually when I'm tired. But "wooder" and "liberry" and "donit" are gone for good, unless they creep back when I'm in a retirement home.

Aileen Cannon shows her rank ignorance and partisanship with every decision she makes. I think lawyers throw around terms like "writ of mandamus" because they want to sound like wizards, but I agree that the prospect of Jack Smith reaching out to the 11th circuit court is get closer and closer. I wouldn't break the glass just yet, but I think it's coming. https://www.newsweek.com/aileen-cannon-trump-jury-instructions-presidential-records-act-1880757

I'm hoping, and it's a reasonable hope, that it makes Trump more desperate, distracted, sloppier, and loonier on the campaign trail. I'm hoping that RNC donations are wasted to fund his lifestyle and legal woes rather than actual campaigning.

Sometimes my childhood Philly accent pops up and I say "defully" instead of "definitely." At least the "nucular" folks are adding a syllable rather than subtracting one.

Made some more of that excellent jalfrezi (thanks again @AncalagonTheBlack), this time with some aloo gobi as well. The flavors played off of one another really well. Great combo platter.

It was definitely true in 2015 and 16, and even before, with The Apprentice cementing that perception in people's heads. That was a big component of how his base came to like him. They loved the notion of a millionaire businessman who sounded like a blue collar grunt. They related to his roughness, and eventually accepted the idea that he could be their millionaire; the guy who fights for them. Yes, there were plenty of other elements in the mix, and the perceptions of the base underwent some massive transformations over time, but his businessman persona was an important ingredient. It's been fundamental to Trump's whole identity for as long as he's been in the public spotlight; it can't not be an issue at this point. But I'm really talking more about his success in general, political as well as in business. The whole Big Lie was birthed and fueled by Trump's massive self-confidence, and in the inevitability of his will to power. I won because I said so, and I'll prove it to you by doing what I want. The more he looks like a loser, the more that self-confident narrative sounds like BS. People will see that in fact he always has been a pathetic creature. I'm not talking about mass defections, mind you; people who want zero taxes will justify anything. But among that 20-30% of Haley voters, there are portions that could be swayed not to vote for him, for various reasons. Him being a terminal loser and incompetent being one of them.

The source of Trump's power is likely not one thing, but anyway, people loving him is more about his base, the MAGA-faithful. That doesn't get him across the threshold in a general election. There are plenty others who are more mixed on him, or at least a bit more circumspect. But part of the reason people who are mixed on him give him a chance is because they think he's an eccentric but successful businessman. And even people who hate the man can sometimes unknowingly buy into the narratives he sells, such as the idea that MAGA is an unstoppable force, or that he is. A successful campaign against him will attack all such narratives. And his real failures can work against him in this way as well. I am agnostic on the problems it raises with respect to his assets. I'm more focused on how it can affect his chances as a candidate. For instance, this businessman can't afford to pay his bond for a fraud trial? Sounds like the claims that he was inflating his wealth were true after all. More practically, if he's funneling all of the RNC's funds to his court cases, he's limiting resources for campaign spending. Not just his, but other Republican candidates as well.

We certainly shouldn't bank on it, but so much of Trump's power is derived from perceptions about his success, and recently about his inevitability. To the ultra-faithful, nothing will shatter the brand. But to everyone else, he's looking and acting more and more like a loser. There will likely never be one thing that takes him down. But collectively, they can compound and help do him in. Hopefully by making him an incompetent candidate in the coming election.

True enough. Still, such undisciplined shitshowry does the GOP no favors for the November election. Their best strategy would be a fake-pivot to seeming normal and functional, but I'm not sure many know how to do that anymore, in this age where even Mitch McConnell is considered a RINO. So maybe not laughing or clapping. But like Ty I am hoping these fucks stay messy all the way up to the election, so we can boot them out of power.

Here's what grinds my gears: as a music collector, I'm constantly getting shafted in this age of streaming. When iPods first arrived on the scene, I was excited. Finally I could carry 80GB+ of music around with me and enjoy as I pleased. Of course, the fact that the Classics were phased out before the Minis were a hint that big collections were not the priority. Fine enough. I still have my CDs, which I can rip into mp3s. Good thing I did, since CDs and CD players have since been phased out. Well, at least mp3s allow me to store and organize my collection. Which is still true, except "store" sometimes means Apple Music corrupting my files. This past Friday, I found that, after I updated to Mac OS Sonoma, just under 600 of the music files stored on my external hard drive were corrupted after importing them to the Apple Music library. Fucking. Hell. (I regret not having pursued vinyl more seriously)

It's kind of significant, since, back in 2016, right wing Christians like my parents thought that Pence was the real guns behind the ticket: the true committed radical. The fact that a #2 who was so admired is not endorsing his old #1 should be significant. But, there's cult brain for you. He's not even a thought anymore. Fealty to the king is stronger than ever. If Pence is brought up in conversation, it's likely as a weakling (which...fair).

Ever since I took a job that starts fairly early, I have come to appreciate early morning daylight. So while for most of my life I had unbridled love of Daylight Savings time, I have a newfound appreciation of what Standard Time offers. Just as I was starting to enjoy my well lit morning drives, now I'm thrust back into darkness, again getting blinded by LED headlights. One more month and then I'm happy again...